Lochte voices regrets about celebrity lifestyle
For the first time in a long time, Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte made headlines for something other than his television show or a celebrity appearance. This time, Lochte made headlines for swimming when, after just six weeks of training, he won four races at last weekend’s Santa Clara Grand Prix. His medals included first-place finishes in the 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley, the 400-meter individual medley and the 200-meter backstroke.
The swimmer said it was refreshing to make headlines from the pool, as ever since the London Summer Olympics, he took some far-from-serious time off from the pool. His dry-land activities included an E! Network television show, modeling deals and hundreds of A-List appearances.
“You name it, I did it,” Lochte told the Associated Press. “After the Olympics, I wasn’t swimming, I was doing all this other stuff that most people only dream about doing. I was partying, hitting red carpets, and being a celeb. I was meeting all these people and I was like, ‘Man, this is awesome!’ Why would I want to go back and train for three four hours every day when I’m living the life? You get sucked into that lifestyle.”
But recently, Lochte started to change his ways. After all of the people, press, and publicity, Lochte admitted it was all just too much.
“I wish I didn’t get so caught up in the celebrity lifestyle,” the Olympic star said. “But my body and mind needed a break from every day training.”
The limelight was not all too bad to the 28-year-old. Lochte said one positive out of the whole situation was how close he got to his entire family on his reality show, “What Would Ryan Lochte Do?”
“It brought me and my family closer together,” Lochte said. “If the opportunity comes up again, I’d be more than happy to [be on TV again].”
